current bulletin-summer 08

July/August 2008 sivAn/tAmmuz/Av

5768 – vol. 51, no. 11

14450 West Ten Mile Road . Oak Park, MI 48237 . 248.967.4020 . www.emanuel-mich.orgWorship schedule

Friday, July 4 7:30 p.m. Erev Shabbat

Worship in Birnkrant Garden




Worship in Birnkrant Garden Picnic Dinner and Hawaiian

Shirt Shabbat



Friday, August 1 7:30 p.m. Erev Shabbat





Worship in Birnkrant Garden Wedding Blessing: Ilise Rosen

and Duane Haldeman



Shabbat, August 23 10:30 a.m. Elizabeth Stocker,

Bat Mitzvah



Shabbat, August 30 10:30 a.m. Rachel Krasnick,

Bat Mitzvah

t e m p l e e m A n u - e l

b u l l e t i n

temple emanu-el Where You Belong!

We are a family of families, keeping alive our cherished traditions by joyfully sharing

Jewish learning, spiritual celebrations, and a

commitment to social justice. Reminder: You and your family (or you and a group of friends and/or relatives) can be the proud

sponsor of a Bulletin. Your sponsorship will be noted with a photo or recognition on page one or two and information about the occasion that led you to sponsor the bulletin (a special birthday, a

Bar or Bat Mitzvah of a loved one, an anniversary, a desire to honor someone for a special service, etc.) Bulletin sponsorships are $1,000. Please call Susan Kirschner at (248) 967-4020 x 205 as soon

as possible if you would like to reserve “your” issue for next year!

Welcome geoff berdy, temple emanu-el Director of educationShalom Temple Emanu-El! It is with much excitement that I introduce myself to you as your new Director of Education. I consider this somewhat of a homecom-ing, having spent part of my childhood in Oak Park and having graduated from Southfield-Lathrup High School. I also spent some of my growing-up years in Israel, England and Columbus, Ohio. I've been in Jewish education in some capacity for about fifteen years, in a wide variety of settings including congrega-tional Hebrew schools, camp, day school, Jewish communal organizations and adult education. My own Jewish education is also diverse, ranging from time at a traditional yeshiva, study in Israel, at Hebrew College in Boston, courses with Elie Wiesel and a master's from Harvard, where my focus was on Judaism and education. I'm also a proud Spartan; I met my wife Dina, who is a social worker, when we were both undergraduates at Michigan State. We have a two year old son named Lev whose passions are basketball, watering flowers and challah and a cat named Mr. Bingley.

I bring with me to Temple Emanu-El a passion for Jewish life and learning which includes particular interests in the arts and Tikkun Olam/social justice work. These interests draw me to the Reform move-ment, where I see much energy, enthusiasm and creativity in the continual transmission and renewal of Judaism from generation to generation. What I love about Jewish education is the uniqueness of each individual's path and contribution to creating community and the opportunity to empower individuals and families to find and make their own meanings from its vast store of tradition and wisdom.

I've already gained an appreciation for Temple Emanu-El's warmth as a community, the commitment of its lay-leaders, the dedication of its professionals and the high standards of its

educational offerings. I look forward to contributing my own efforts towards Emanu-El's continuing growth, to getting to know the membership, students and

staff, and to exploring together new possibilities in Jewish experience and learning. To me, a congregation is a family of families, and I am excited and honored to make

mine a part of Temple Emanu-El's.

Geoffrey, Lev and Dina Berdy

Geoff Berdy

-2- Temple emanu-el BulleTin • July/augusT 2008 - sivan / Tammuz / av 5768

If you wish to memorialize your loved ones in a special way, consider purchasing a memorial plaque to be displayed in our Anne Jospey Sanctuary. Each year, on the anniversary of their death, it will be lit as a remem-brance. Contact the Temple office at 248-967-4020 to make arrange-

*A light will be lit on our Memorial Board.

JulY

1 Kevin & Stacy Brand Harvey & Ruth Hurwitz Richard & Brenda Strausz Jay & Elizabeth Zerwekh 3 Miranda Liebowitz & Eric Samson Frederick & Susie Melamed Milton & Michaelyn Silverman 5 Jan & Janet Gubkin Daniel & Lainie Phillips 8 Gerald & Jan Bayer 9 Michael & Stacey Byck Marc & Carin Edelstein11 Jeffrey & Stephanie Stone12 Lance & Deborah Heilbrun Victor & Linda Marchione14 Jeffrey Abt & Mary Paquette-Abt Alfred & Barbara Alexander Daniel & Deborah Swimmer17 Steven & Kristin Schondorf18 Michael & Cheryl Davis20 Shaun Shaya & Nicole Unguari22 Eric & Amy Roseenblum24 Richard Saslow & Linda Burwell-Saslow27 Mitchell Klein & Sandra Johnson28 George & Virginia Elfond Ellsworth & Janet Levine30 Richard & Deborah Astrein Elaine Eizelman & Thomas Torma

JulY & August AnniversAries!

MAzel tov

Michael Scrivener & Mary Ann Simmons Richard & Julie Zussman

AuguSt 3 Richard & Carol Kaczander 4 David & Dorothy Gubow Mitchell & Gail Moses 6 Martin & Jolie Kaufmann-Laker Jeffrey & Mary Topf 7 George & Janice Erdstein John & Deborah Steinberg 8 Arthur & Eileen Brand 9 Mark & Larissa Shain Warren & Muriel Zweigel11 Herman & Lillian Fox Russell Klavons & Barbara Gordon-Klavons12 Jack & Ellen Tucker13 David & Kathy Sloan14 Jack & Judith Nolish Charles & Barbara Sachse15 David & Jill Hart Ronald & Sheryl Loeb16 Eric & Margaret Goldstein Daniel & Miriam Medow Kenneth & Mimi Pritz Marc Thomas & Deborah Gordon17 Kenneth & Pamela Finegood Michael & Marcia Leibson

o u r t e m p l e f A m i l y t r e e

y A r t z e i t sJuly 4/5

*Ann Collins*Lottie R. Goldstein

Fay Herwitz*Esther Isaacs

*William B. Isenberg Louis Klein

Isabelle Kobernick*Hannan Kraft

*Goldie Lerman Harry Linton

Emily Magidson*Seymour Morton Charles Peppers James Phillips Miriam Pickard

Milton Prag*Louis Robbins

*Paul Rosett Max Segal

Rose Genden Shapiro Bernard Sloan

*Arthur L. Sofferin Morris Sperber Yetta Steingold

Abe Stolzenberg Milton George Warren

Myrtle Weiner

July 11/12 Elaine Barbas Leonard Berke Morris Birnkrant

Rose Blau Harry Bluestein Nona Ruth Blum

Peter Blum*Vivian Bramson

*Morris Davis*Benjamin W. Einhorn

Fannie Feingold*Louis Feldhandler

Nathan Ferman*Robert Finkel

*William G. Frankford Harry Gittlen

Evertt Greenbaum*Robert E. Greenwald*Isadore Hamburger

*Nathan Hendelman Benjamin Janower

Lenke Jonas Ted Kaczander

*Max Kahn*Diane Krosnick

*Rose Maltz Marshall Miller*Celia Modell

Anne Polinsky*Minnie Rosen

*Dr. Harry A. Ruskin Martin Salinger

*Joseph Sanders Edwin Schwartz Gertrude Shine

Frances Solomon Rose B. Stein Fanny Stellar*Morris Swidler

*Irving Tow Sam Wasylin Elsie Weiner*Evelyn West

*Phillip Zelickman

July 18/19*Maurice Broad

Ben Cott Arthur Dershowitz George Diamond Cindy Fishman Tillie Gardner

Yoseph Glatstein*Jennie Goldberg

*Helen I. Goldenberg*Samuel Goren

*Rose Harris*Morris Hearshen*Amelia Hirshberg*Samuel Hollander*Sidney Jackson

*Roy Kaplan*Jack Katz*Sam Kay

Rose Kessler*Gloria Ketai Morris Lapin

Louis Latt

Hyman Milinsky*Tilly Newhouse*Eric Jay Pelzner Robert Robinson

*Morris Hyman Rubin*Sophia Radom Safir

*Albert Shapiro*Mike Shear Pearl Stellar

*Jacob Stettner Sam Stoller*Mary Stutz*Fay Sucher

Gilbert Weinberg Shirley Zickerman

Eli Zloto

July 25/26 Miriam Auerbach Harmon Bayer

Saul J. Birnkrant*Harry Blumenthal

Ida Brenner Ralph Brod*Aaron Cohn Phillip Corner

Anne M Edelman*Pauline Federman

*Abe Field Lillian Fowler

*Nettie Friedman*Jennie Goldberg Faye Goldman Sarah Gordon David Gussin*Sarah Kaplan

*Isidor Katz Abraham Klaper*Diane Krosnick Minnie Leshman

*Rose Maltz*Lillian Maltzer

Beatrice Mihaly Elva Novick

*Samuel Potashnik*Cantor Norman Rose

*Dorothy Selik*Theodore Silverman

*Herman Stark

*Werner Stark*Rebecca Tabor

*Dr. Maurice Weiner*Helen Weiss*Myron Yanitz

*Samuel L. Yoffee*Lillian Zalenko Hilde Zerwekh

August 1/2*Samuel Anbender

Arvin Bennish*Mae Berg

John Dangovian Von Frowine

*Dr. Morris Fynke Estelle Gerdy

*Minnie Gershman Lee Girson

Cecelia Goldstein*Eva Goodman

*Henrietta M. Goodman Julius Honeyman William Kadashaw William Kellerman*Jack Leachman

Ida Greenwald Levy Sara Litvin

Judy Mattice*Miriam Nosanchuk Marta Nurenberg*Phillip Nusholtz

*Marion Potamkin Bernard Rubin Samuel Sacks

Baruch Salinger Hershel Salinger

Herman L. Saretsky*Joseph Schwartz William Scrivener Betty Sherman

*Rose Epstein Smelsey

August 8/9 Ida Girson

Anne Ellman Ruth Emmer

*Ida L. Feldman*Isadore Finesilver

Rachel Flacks Ida Girson

Benjamin Goldman Sidney Golds Jackie Gordon Walter Hanes Louis Herwitz

*Joseph Hirshberg*Isadore Hoffman

*David Kaatz Florence Kanefsky

Harriette Kayes*Emma Klein*Peggy Klein*Dora Kline

*Pauline Lichter Ethel Liebowitz*Sylvia Lipson Maurie Litvin

*Dr. Thomas B. Marwil*Henry Miller

Rose Mondshine*Charles Mucasey*Ben Nosanchuk

*Arthur A. Oppenheimer Joan Phillips

*Bessie Kling Reibel*Abraham Rosen

Minnie Rosen De-george

Mordechai Rosenblatt Esther Sedler Leo Shartsis

Leona Sniderman Helen Tuckman

*Bessie Willis*Milton Simon Zafron

August 15/16 Morris J. Applefield Norman Appleton

*Sarah E. Blumenthal*Jacqueline Cafini Shoshana Fealk

Cheskis Meyer Cohen*Harry Collins

*Joseph N. Davies

*Esther Dershowitz*Clara Field

Fay Genden Will Goldman

*Dr. Jason Goode*Miriam Goodman Bernice Gordon Gann Heilbrun*Harry Herman Mary Hirschl

Rose K. Holberg Frances E. Isaacs

Jean Klein*Gary Armand Klinsky

*Seymour Kraus Matilda Kursman*Fannie Langberg

*Margaret Lawrence*Eleanor G. Levine

Louis Levy Ben Margolis Martin Messer Charles Mihaly

Faye Reva Okun Helene Oliva

*Jerome Oppenheim Esther Rudner Jacob Sasan Ethel Schmier

*Stanley Schwartz*Norman Selik Ezra Shaya

*Michael Stephen Silver Fanny Sokoloff*Bernard Sucher

*Fay Tow*Berthold Triest

*Ly Triest William Weinberg Shirley Weinhart Samuel Weltman

Grace Zack

August 22/23*Martin Belsky*Arthur Berick

Gladys Cooper*Harry Coville

*Robert Curtis Dora Dozoretz Saidee Elfond Irving Gordon

*Al Goren*David Greenwald

*Elizabeth Grobman Ida Guyer

*Joan Arlene Harris*Hester “Sally” Hartman

John C. Hopp Bella F. Mandell

Florence Margolis Max Mondshine*Philip Nusholtz

Caroline Rosenberg*Martin Schiff

*Edgar Schlussel*Sally Schreiber*Morris Schwartz*Nathan Schwartz*Joseph Schweid Julius Silverman Irene Sodders

*Mildred S. Tack Donald B Traute

Arlene Victor Louis Vishlitsky Bessie Weiner

*Henry Zussman

18 Charles & Patricia Chomet Carol & James Dunlap Larry & Rena Friedberg Dennis & Linda Kayes Steven & Sandra Silverman19 Peter & Caryn Gray20 Thomas Hulbert & Nancy Scheer21 Eric & Pamela Koretz Geoff Kretchmer & Jody Lipton22 H. Adam & Lauren Cohen Norman & Celia Glovinsky Douglas & Barbara Kellerman23 Daniel & Nancy Blake Louis Citarel & Florence Wedes-Citarel Jackie Victor & Ann Perrault25 Raymond & Lindy Buch26 Allan & Linda Passerman27 Bruce & Linda Gordon Mark & Linda Klein Marc & Randie Kruman Michael & Madelyn Phillips Geoffrey & Debra Stocki28 Kevin & Sandy Nickerson Charles & Marsha Owen Alan & Shirleyanne Schlang29 Aaron & Edna Rubin30 David & Vickie Edwards31 Laurence Jacobs & Jan Adler-Jacobs

August 29/20*Howard Alderman

Sherry Renner Beau-champs

*Harry Block Alfred Brook

*Samuel Dovitz Bertha Edelman Sarah Feldman Howard Gilman

Claire Gold*Rose Goodman

Emanuel Gorland Rose Green

*Harry N. Grossman*William Heiffus*Marlene Karp

Louis Levinson*Gussie Levitt*Henry A. Levy

Bertha Liberman*Ralph Moses Bettie E. Patt Belle Rose Ella Sauber

Minnie Schnieder Belle Shogan

*Lillian Solomon*Nathan Steinberg Stanley Stovack*Frieda Tendler Allen Tucker

Jame Walters Peter Zack

*Louis Zickerman

in MeMoriAM

lisa Brown Henry greenbergJane Sahn Mildred Schneider Rose Schwartz

Mazel Tov to Vivian and Doug Degain on the birth of their granddaughter, Macie Marian Degain, born to

Michael and Katie DeGain

Welcome to temple emAnu-el!

The Congregation welcomes the following new members who have joined our Temple

family since our last Bulletin:

Eric and Amy Rosenblum of Hazel Park and their children Erin, Morgan and Hayley.

Shuvael and Shandell Lockhart of Detroit.

We look forward to your involvement in ser-vices and at our many events and activities.

t h e r A b b i ’ s c o r n e r

-3-temple emAnu-el: A great place to belong! • 248-967-4020

[email protected]

Rabbi Joseph Klein

may 16th graduation messageEach year, as Marcia and I speak about our graduating seniors, we say that this is a special class. And each year that’s true, and this year it’s true. This is the largest class that I have had, and I suspect the largest class in the last 20 years or so. Of

course, part of this is simple demographics—this was a large B’nai Mitzvah group five years ago. But what’s interesting is that this was a Confirmation class of 25, which means only three students didn’t continue from Confirmation. One of them is graduating from the Jewish Academy, and one went away to school. It’s clear that these 22 seniors have made a statement about their Jewish identities, their pursuit of Jewish education, and their connection to their congregation.

When our children arrive on Sunday morning for Religious School they’ve been driven here (occasionally in more ways than one) by their parents. And though 1st and 2nd and 3rd grades are fun—they’re here because their parents want them here. Beginning in 4th grade they are self-motivated by Bar and Bat Mitzvah, and after 7th grade many see the New York Confirmation trip as an attractive and worthwhile goal. But after Confirmation there are no tangible benefits to Monday Night School, beyond coming to Monday Night School. And their junior and senior years of high school are filled with extra-curricular activities, and serious school work to get into college, and the freedom of a driver’s license. And yet 22 of our 25 Confirmation students are with us tonight.

Credit certainly goes to their parents — none of whom I think, forced or overtly pushed their kids to come. These parents, somehow, early on conveyed to their children the importance of being part of the synagogue community. And that sense of identity and fellowship, within the framework of Jewish study, will remain with these young men and women for many years to come.

And credit of course goes to these seniors. They understand and appreciate the value of Torah Lishma, “learning for its own sake.” That’s an old Hebrew expression, it goes back 2000 years to the earliest discussions of rabbinic literature. Torah Lishma means literally “Torah for its name – Torah l-shem-ah.” I study, I learn, not because I benefit from Bar Mitzvah gifts, or get to go to New York with the rabbi—I study, I learn, because it makes me feel better about my Jew-ish me, because I want to continue to be connected to my synagogue and my Jewish community.

And if 22 of out 25 Confirmation students remain in our program through graduation, credit must certainly be given to our program. And the program is Marcia Leibson and the teachers she assembled and supported, and it is the comfort-able and engaging and inclusive atmosphere that she has ensured Monday nights would be. I doubt that our parents or our teens know or appreciate how much of Monday Night is Mrs. Leibson—but our teachers do. And we particularly, will miss her leadership, her compassion, and her steady guiding hand. This graduating class was the first Consecration class under Marcia’s direction as Education Director of Temple Emanu-El’s Religious School.

For these twelve years, these seniors have only known one School Director. She stood with them for their Consecration picture, she introduced them to the new rabbi, she watched over them as they studied Hebrew for B’nai Mitzvah, she stayed up with them on two retreats, she traveled with them to New York City, and she instructed them in their procession into the sanctuary tonight. And with me, she bids them good-bye as they journey now into the next stage of their lives.

And as our students leave us, so does Marcia. I will miss her as a trusted colleague, as a consummate Jewish profes-sional, as my “fellow-traveler”, and as a gifted educator who knows the needs and abilities and personalities of every single student. And though she will no longer be our educator, she’ll always be my friend. And looking out at this class of 22 graduates, who are here, in large measure, because of her leadership-- it is abundantly clear that she leaves us having done her job well.

Graduation is all about letting go and saying goodbye. It’s never easy, but we hope that as parents, as a synagogue and as a school we’ve accomplished something lasting and worth-while along the way. We give credit where credit is due. To our seniors and to Marcia—goodbye and thank you.

correctionThe name of Jenna Pickman’s father – Michael Pickman – was inadvertently omitted from the list of parents of our Confirmation students. We apolo-gize for the error.

-4-

Temple Membership Directory – 2008 correction

We hope you have all received, and are enjoying using, the latest edition of the Temple Emanu-El Membership Directory. We apologize for a typo in Marilyn Kaczander-Cohen’s email address and ask that you note the correct address (page 8): [email protected].

Congratulations to Mark Lipton and Ellen Cogen Lipton; the Winners of our Free Dues Raffle:

The Liptons have generously informed us that they are donating the prize back to Temple, and we are most grateful.

c o n g r e g A t i o n A l n e W s

mazel tov!We are so pleased to congratulate Bea Sacks, who recently received the 2008 Trillium Award for Lifetime Achievement as a “visionary, social activist and former educator” from the Michigan Women’s Foundation.

HigH Holiday RemindeRa special way to honor the memory of someone

close to you is the purchase of a memorial plaque for permanent placement on the memorial board in the

anne Jospey Sanctuary. The cost of the engraved plaque is $525.00. The deadline for ordering memorial

plaques you wish to have up in time for the High Holidays is Thursday, august 14, 2008.

Contact Rhonda White in the office if you wish to order a memorial plaque.

pleAse checK All of your shelves, closets, unDer the beDs for librAry booKs.

We want you to enjoy using our library, but please return books so that others may enjoy them too. thank you!

Temple emanu-el BulleTin • July/augusT 2008 - sivan / Tammuz / av 5768

Sasson Shaya LibraryCheCk It Out

In the temple Library...Adult Fiction

The German Bride by Joanna Hershon

Adult Non-FictionThe Hebrew Republic, How Secular Democracy and Global Enterprise will bring Israel Peace at Last by Bernard AvishaiAvishai, a political economist, exposes the connection between Israel’s constitutional crisis and the other problems besetting the nation – the expansion of settlements, the alienation of Israeli Arabs, and the exploding ultra-Ortho-dox population.Over My Dead Body, Some Grave Questions for God by David J. FormanIn this compelling, “autobiographical” account of life and death, Rabbi Forman takes the reader on an intensely chal-lenging journey of self-discovery. Dramatic and comic, intellectual and emotional, this book addresses primary concerns about God that occupy all of us.

Help Wanted

USHeRS

A p p l y B e l o w .

P r e r e q u i s i t e s :

A friendly face, with a

warm smile. No prior

experience necessary.

Flexible shifts (Friday

evening or saturday

morning); Once a month

or on an occasional

basis. No reasonable

offers refused. Join our

corps of Kabbalat Panim

(welcoming faces) by

contacting us today.

Barbara Levitt:

[email protected]

Bob Levitt:

[email protected]

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c o n g r e g A t i o n A l n e W s

temple emAnu-el: A great place to belong! • 248-967-4020

2008 high holiDAy cAlenDAr

neW yeAr’s previeWBelow, you will find a schedule for the High Holidays. As always, in order to have tickets mailed, members need to be

paid up in all their financial commitments through September of 2008. Your August statement will indicate the amount to be paid up by September 8, 2008 in order for tickets to be mailed. Thus, if you have not yet returned your Dues

Commitment Form for 2008-2009, please do so at your earliest convenience. We incur many expenses at the start of the fiscal year as we prepare for the holidays and for Religious School, so we do very much need your payments. I hope our

members are enjoying a relaxing and enjoyable summer.

Early July 2008 First statement 2008-09 received. Note: all first quarter (7/1/08 thru 9/30/09) payments of dues and tuition must be received by 9/9/2008 in order for tickets to be mailed

thurs. Aug. 14, 2008 Deadline for Yahrzeit plaque orders for HHD Contact Rhonda in the office if you would like to order a memorial plaque.

Monday, Sept. 1, 2008 Labor Day (building closed)

Monday, Sept. 8, 2008 All first quarter (7/1/08 thru 9/30/08) payments of finan-cial obligations (dues, tuition, building fund) must be received in order for tix to be mailed September 11,12.

Deadline for ordering additional High Holiday tickets

Friday, Sept. 12, 2008 Deadline for names for Book of Remembrance (information on this will be mailed to you ahead of time)

Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008 - S’lichot Services Modell Room - Potluck Dinner: 6:30; Program: 7:30; Service: 9:00 p.m.

thurs. Sept. 25, 2008 All prayer books (Gates of Repentance) must be paid for and picked up

Monday, Sept. 29, 2008 - Erev Rosh HaShanah 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. services

tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008 - Rosh HaShanah 9 a.m. Children’s Service; 10:30 a.m. Regular Service

Wed. Oct. 8, 2008 - Kol Nidre 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Services

thurs. Oct. 9, 2008 - Yom Kippur 9:00 a.m. children’s service; 10:30 a.m. morning service; 1:00 study session; 2:30 afternoon service; 4:30 Yizkor/Memorial; 5:15 Ne’ilah/Concluding Service; 6:00 Havdalah & Break-the-fast

Monday, Oct. 13, 2008 - Erev Sukkot “Pizza in the Hut” at 6:00 p.m.; Service: 7:30 p.m.

tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008 - Sukkot morning service 10:30 a.m.

Monday, Oct. 20, 2008 - Erev Simchat torah Consecration Dinner at 6:00 p.m.; Service: 7:30 p.m.

tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008 - Simchat torah Morning services 10:30 a.m.

Garden Chavurah – Growing Strong

-6-

c o m m u n i t y n e W s


financial helpIn an effort to ensure that "No Family Stands Alone", especially during these tough economic times, Jewish Federation of Met-ropolitan Detroit has established "The Deutsch Fund for Emer-gency Financial Assistance" to alleviate the most critical financial setbacks of our congregants, including mortgage assistance. The Fund will work in partnership with Jewish Family Service (JFS) and Hebrew Free Loan (HFL) to augment the pool of income that may be available through JFS’ Emergency Financial Assistance program and the newly established Jewish Housing Assistance. If you, or someone you know, is in need of emergency financial assistance, please contact Rabbi Klein or Michael Benghiat at the Federation directly at 248-203-1459 for an interview. Any contact will be kept in the strictest confidence.

new community scholarship fundThe Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit’s Rebecca and Gary Sakwa Challenge Fund was created this year recognizing the needs of families at risk in Israel and in our Community. The Sakwa Challenge Fund allowed the Jewish Federation to make one-time additional allocations to help families and institutions in our community affected by the downtown in the economy.

Realizing that Temple Emanu-El and other area congregations had been impacted by increased requests for scholarship funding for congregational school education, Federation increased their total $500,000+ allocation to congregation schools by approximately 50% this year. In April (after the May bulletin had gone to press) we received the announcement of this additional funding for con-gregational school scholarships made possible by the Gary and Rebecca Sakwa Challenge Fund.

Temple Emanu-El received $17,676 in recognition of the in-creased scholarship needs resulting from the current economic situation. We are very grateful to the Sakwa Fund and to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit for working together with area congregations during these challenging economic times to strengthen our community and to ensure that no family stands alone.

JN B’nai Mitzvah Publicity UpdateThe Jewish News has informed us that they will elimi-nate references to “honor” students and will only list the mitzvah project that was “especially meaningful”

to the child. They will continue to list immediate family and grandparents as well as the synagogue and date.

-7-

c o m m u n i t y n e W s


RECYLED PAPER NOTECARDS iN FuLL COLOR CREATED bY TEmPLE RELEigiOuS SChOOL STuDENTS

RECYCLE - REDuCE- REuSE NOW ON SALE iN ThE TEmPLE OFFiCE

RECYLED AND RECYCLAbLE NOTECARDS WERE CREATED bY OuR RELigiOuS SChOOL ChiLDREN iN TWO DiFFERENT DESigNS -

ONE FEATuRiNg A TREE AND ANOThER A gLObE. bOTh ARE iNCLuDED iN A PACKAgE OF TEN CARDS FOR ONLY $10.

YOuR PuRChASE WiLL mAKE OuR ChiLDREN PROuD OF ThEiR ARTiSTiC TALENT AND ThEiR ENViRONmENTAL CONCERN.

Hebrew Free Loan AssociationHebrew Free Loan, metro Detroit’s oldest Jewish agency, is looking to help our neighbors. With the deteriorating economic climate, many individuals and families who never thought that they would need financial assistance are looking for help. They are our friends and family who live in Southeastern Mich-igan. And now their needs are greater than ever. Hebrew Free Loan can help by providing interest-free loans for a wide range of needs, including living expenses, job re-training, tuition assistance, summer camp programs, medical expenses, small business start-up costs, and much more.

To be eligible for an interest-free loan, the applicant must be Jewish, a Michigan resident of legal age and have the financial ability to make monthly payments. The application process includes a phone interview, a personal interview and the signature of two co-signers. Once the paperwork is complete, a credit report is obtained on the co-signers, a Promissory Note is signed and a check is quickly issued.

For more information on Hebrew Free Loan’s services, call the office at 248-723-8184 or visit their website at www.hfldetroit.org.

The Social Action Committee

-8-

I am writing just two days after our Music Magic Memories celebration. That the event was such a huge success from every aspect was made possible by: the dedication, hard work and planning of a top notch committee; our wonderful Rabbi Klein, whose many special gifts make it such a pleasure to honor him; by the performers, who drew us into a very special place; by our donors, whose generosity will have such a positive impact on our budget; and by all in attendance who came together as a community to celebrate Rabbi Klein.

I watched the committee working for months to pull off this event and, yes, they were awesome! Our heartfelt thanks to the chairpersons, Marilyn Kaczander-Cohen and Jennifer Wolin Patterson and to their team: Wendy Bakst, Michael Benghiat, Kevin Brand, Stacy Brand, Joyce Kaczander, Kelly

Onickel, Bobbie Patt, Linda Permut and Debra Walter.

e x e c u t i v e D i r e c t o r

Susan J. Kirschner

REMINDER AND OPTIONS FOR PAYMENT OF FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS

The deadline for return of dues commitment forms for the year that began July 1, 2008 was June 5. If you have not yet returned your forms, please do so promptly.

We are always happy to have any opportunity to thank our members for making prompt payment on financial obliga-tions. Obviously, this is what keeps us running and we are most grateful.

We are also always trying to find ways to make payment easier for you, and, if possible, less expensive for Temple.

CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS: We currently have 135 members that regularly charge their obligations on a monthly or quar-terly basis. While this is great in terms of cash flow (because the money is generally deposited within 72 hours of the transaction), every credit/debit card transaction costs Temple several dollars in fees.

DIRECT DEBIT: Credit cards are a safe and convenient pay-ment method, but there are other methods equally convenient and safe that would save us the cost of fees. We now have the option of direct debit, where money can be wired from a member’s bank account into Temple’s. (Please check with your financial institution regarding any fees your account may incur for this service.)

AUTOMATIC CHECK WRITING SERVICES: Instead of traditional check writing, many members are now using a check writing service to pay regular Temple obligations, which saves the checkwriter the hassle of writing the check and the cost of postage, and is generally a fee free service to them as well as to Temple.

If you are interested in learning more about, or switching to, any of these methods of payment, please contact our book-keeper, Abigail Goldfaden, at (248) 967-4020 x203 or by email at [email protected].

OuR BOARD OF TRuSTEES

A hearty todah rabbah to the outgoing members of our Board of Trustees, as well as those continuing and those just joining, for giving so much to make our Temple a wonderful place to come to worship, celebrate simchas and be an integral part of our Jewish life cycle.

Mazel Tov to Our Elected Officers and Trustees for 2008/2009!

OFFICERS/EXECuTIVE COMMITTEE President Dolores M. Galea Administrative Vice-President Aron Kominars Financial Vice-President Steven L. Permut Membership and Programming Vice President Elissa Driker-Ohren Religious Vice-President Pat Chomet Education Vice-President Glenn Lapin Treasurer Michael Benghiat Secretary Rena Friedberg Immediate Past-President Sheldon Klein

TRuSTEES

Wendy BakstMichael CohenLiz FallertDenise FermanJaneen FettermanJill Hart

Geoff KretchmerBarbara LevittMichael Leibson*Ellen Cogen LiptonRae MandelBarbara Nurenberg

And thank you to our 2007-2008 Nominating Committee

Chair: Sheldon Klein, Michael Benghiat, Don Cohen, Nancy Cohen, Elissa Driker-Ohren, Fred Frank, Rena Friedberg, Jennifer Wolin Patterson, Elayne Steinhardt

*Michael was appointed to replace Mary Paquette-Abt. Due to a new job out-of-state, Mary was unable to fill the position.

Ruthanne OkunRichard M. SelikElayne SteinhardtCathy TopfDebra WalterFreya Weberman


cuy kznb ’ n A i m i t z v A h


Rachel Krasnick- August 30Rachel Emily Krasnick will be called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, August 30, 2008. Rachel is the daughter of Jane and Robert Krasnick and the big sister to Leah and Julie. Joining in the celebration are Rachel's grand-parents Ellen and Herbert Lux and Marjorie and William Krasnick. Rachel is a 7th grade honor student at Norup International School. She enjoys art, fashion design and wave boarding. Rachel loved volunteering at Friendship Circle for her Mitzvah Project.

Elizabeth Stocker - August 23Elizabeth Lindsey Stocker (Esther Shira) will be called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah on August 23, 2008. Celebrating with her will be her grand-mother, Andrea Stocker, and Harriet and Richard Shapack. She is a student at Royal Oak Middle School. Elizabeth's hobbies include dancing, music, sports and traveling with the Shapacks.Volunteering at America's Family Pet Exposition Beagle Rescue was one of her Mitzvah projects. She also served as a guide for Camp Tamarack's Open House. Most meaningful to Liz was meet-ing and talking with seniors at Lincoln Towers as part of the SPARK program.

Share a Relaxing Shabbat Picnic Dinner with family and friends, followed by

“Hawaiian Shirt Shabbat”

Friday, July 18 at 6:15 p.m. in the Birnkrant Garden

at Temple Emanu-El

This event is sponsored by the Temple Emanu-El Membership Committee

RSVP to Temple office - 248-967-4020

s a v e t h e d a t e

Yom Huledet sameiach July & August Birthdays -

temple emanu-el Children

July 2 Cameron Berke Natalie Cripps Sarah Greenwood 3 Samantha Katz Eliot Sosin 5 Jaylin Herskovitz 7 Elizabeth Stocker 8 Amanda Moss Kara Unatin10 Erin Harwood11 Lily Noga Colton Teicher Tyler Unger13 Rachel Bornstein16 Zoe Baxter17 Eli Hurwitz Noah Kirrkamm18 Rebecca Hazan Caroline Krell21 Eric Gelb Jameson Hertzberg22 Miriam Goldstein23 Rebecca Gold24 Amanda Jacobs25 Ian Kobernick Sari Wise26 Max Unger27 Jory Finkelberg Emily Wedes

August 2 Graeme Schulman 4 Benjamin Fallert 5 Morgan Isabel Collens Michelle Lapin Ian McManus 7 Ruth Klein 9 Lucy Hoffman11 Lexie Markowitz13 Chloe Halprin Emma Schwartz14 Daniel Ericksen15 Dayna Edelstein17 Azriel Newman Jared Pazner18 Chloe Oliva21 Samuel Mondshine Benjamin Swimmer22 Samuel Edwards Luke Schwanki23 Rachel Clephane24 Joshua Segall26 Mark Bornstein Jesse Frank Rachel Gubow27 Rachel Krasnick30 Justin Ozrovitz Eric Voisine31 Daniel Okun Jacob Saslow Jolie Stocki

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It was as a community, on Saturday, May 31, 2008, that we shared an evening of music, magic and memories to honor Rabbi Klein’s 10th anniversary with Temple Emanu-El.

It takes a community to plan and execute an event such as this, so from our first meeting in October 2007, we set out to assemble a committee. How fortunate we were that our core committee brought with them their unique talents and expertise.

We thank Wendy Bakst, Michael Benghiat, Stacy Brand, Kevin Brand, Joyce Kaczander, Kelly Onickel, Bobbie Patt, Linda Permut and Debra Walter for their time, perseverance and dedication.

While our core committee remained constant, our community of volunteers grew. What would we have done without Pat Chomet, Liz Zerwekh, Mary Gilhuly and Steve Klaper for their creativity, efficiency and energy.

The community continued to grow as Jordan Benghiat, Mary Gilhuly, Jackie Gubow, Judy Nolish, Bea Sacks, Ari Wal-ter, Lynn Wolin and Liz Zerwekh worked to set up, clean up and break down the dinner, silent auction and afterglow.

Music . Magic . MemoriesCelebrating 10 Years Together with Rabbi Joe Klein

Our Executive Director, Susan Kirschner, was, and is, an invaluable source of meaningful suggestions. We offer sincere thanks to Abby Goldfaden, Faye Damraur, Rhonda White and Pat Mardigian for fielding phone calls, answering countless questions, printing labels and helping to keep us organized; and to Charles Criss and his crew for all that they do, not only for special events but every single day.

Additionally, we were blessed to have so many of the silent-auction items donated by our members whom we thank. Of the approximately 175 items, about 100 came from within our congregation and at least fifty percent of those were handmade.

The greatest success of the evening, however, was the out-pouring of attendees who not only honored Rabbi Klein but came together as a community to enjoy the music, magic and memories. Our underwriters, sponsors, dinner- and concert-goers, alike, offered meaningful support for the event. We are grateful to all of you and we hope that the spirit of that eve-ning will continue to permeate our congregational family—our Temple community—long into the future.

Marilyn and Jenny


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We are pleased to announce an initiative that we believe will dramatically increase Temple membership while providing

a savings of 50% off or more from your dues. Here’s

how the program works:

Sponsor 1 new member and receive 50% off next year’s

2009 – 2010 Dues, once the sponsored member pays the full year’s dues.

Receive an added 10% discount for each additional member sponsored,

after the first new member.

Sponsor six members and receive free dues (one @ 50%, 5 @ 10% each).

Additional details about this new program were included with the dues mailing.

f r o m t h e p r e s i D e n t

Dolores Galea


This month will be a bittersweet month as we say several goodbyes as well as several hellos.

On a sad note, we will be saying goodbye to Marcia Leib-son as our current Director of Education. Marcia has served Temple Emanu-El, its students and its families with distinc-tion. We have an excellent Religious School and a particularly popular and well-attended high school. We know how much we have Marcia to thank for that. Marcia has been our Direc-tor of Education for twelve years and has taught at Temple Emanu-El for the past twenty years. We thank her for her dedication and commitment and for helping make Temple Emanu-El’s religious school the excellent school it is. As most of you know, Marcia and her family have been members of Temple Emanu-El for more than fifty years and we are pleased that Marcia and Michael will continue to be members here. In fact, Michael has agreed to sit on the Board and work on some special committees with us.

We will also be saying goodbye to Judy Lewis and Steve Klaper as our Directors of Music. Judy and Steve literally saved our congregation by stepping in when Cantor Rose

retired. They have brought innovative music and exciting and well-attended musical Shabbats to Temple Emanu-El. We will all remember with fond-ness our Hawaiian Shirt Shabbat, our fun and wild Purim Services, our Spirit and Song Shabbats and our summer Shabbats in the garden. I will always remember sitting on the bimah with our Scholar in Residence David Saperstein who complimented our music and noted that much of it was unique. We look forward to their continued involvement in Temple Emanu-El’s musical endeavors for many years to come.

At the same time we will be welcoming Cantor Darcie Sharlein and her husband Jeff and Geoffrey Berdy and his wife and son, Dina and Lev to our Temple family. Cantor Sharlein will officiate for the first time at our Erev Shabbat services on Friday, July 4th. We hope many of you will make a point of joining us on Friday, July 18th for our outdoor picnic before our 5th Annual Hawaiian Shirt Shabbat when you will have an opportunity to meet and talk to Cantor Sharlein and Jeff. We are also excited that Geoffrey Berdy will be join-ing Temple Emanu-El as its Director of Education on July 1, 2008. Geoffrey brings excellent credentials, teaching and supervision experience and a real love of Jewish education to Temple Emanu-El. Cantor Sharlein and Geoffrey will be bringing their warmth and welcoming personalities to our Temple. Although it’s certainly a sad time, in some ways, it is also a very exciting time as we continue to strengthen our Temple in new and varied ways. Please be sure to stop in at Temple, introduce yourself and welcome Cantor Sharlein and Geoffrey to our Temple family.

Weekly Event RemindersCongregants with email may receive Rabbi Klein’s “Monday Mailing” email which includes a two-week listing of congre-gational events, as well as special announcements. Members who do not receive email may read his Monday Mailing at the temple (posted on his office door) or call Rabbi Klein (248-967-4252, ext. 207) and request phone-reminders from the Membership Committee for social action, adult education, worship or social programs.

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Eileen Brand, Director, Early Childhood Community

Small Talk News from Temple emaNu-el’s early Childhood CommuNiTy

Eileen Brand

Summer is going all too quickly as we get ready for Session III of Day Camp. Our Camp Run About campers have been enjoying fun in the sun with water play, creative movement, picnic lunches and Bubbles the Clown, just to highlight some of our activities.

Our Camp Get Away children are fin-ishing up the Session II Safety Town

program under the direction of head teacher Janet Sigmon. Graduation will be held on Thursday, July 24. The campers have visited the Michigan State Police Post followed by a school visit from Buckle Bear and Trooper Edwards. A field trip to the health exploration station and magic performance by Ben Spitzer, along with swimming at the JCC pool have filled our days. Everyone has enjoyed our camp Shabbat sing-along with Rabbi Klein. Summer Slices has been a tasty highlight of our summer program as we offered optional pizza lunches on Fridays.

This has been our first summer where we offered a “Wee Play” class, exclusively for parents with children ages 14 to 21 months. We were delighted with the positive response and hope to add more parent/tot programming to our fall curricu-lum.

It is unfortunate that often we find the problem of bullying

within our schools. Preschoolers complaints of being picked on are sometimes dismissed by parents with the response of “just ignore it.” According to Parent & Child magazine, findings suggest we really should listen more carefully. They showed that 1 in 10 children between the ages of four and six have been bullied. Preschool bullying often includes kicking, fighting, punching and shoving. By the age of three, we need to start teaching our children how to respond to bullying so that they will not be a victim. Teach children to use phrases like “I’m mad,” or “I’m sad.” Encourage assertiveness in your children; don’t speak for them. Also teach them to look their friends in the eye when they speak. We want all of our children to feel secure and confident.

Early Childhood orientation is on Tuesday, September 2nd, with regular classes beginning on Wednesday, September 3rd, including extended care. If you have not yet enrolled for fall, please do so as soon as possible to accommodate the schedule of your choice.

Our infant program is open year round and will remain open the last week in August to meet the needs of our working families. Please call the Nursery office for information on all of our programs.

Enjoy the rest of this beautiful summer!


It tAKES A CONgREgAtION tO MAKE A DIFFERENCE - At HOME AND AROuND tHE WORlD!Join us in some of our current projects sponsored by Social Action, our students and others.

(Collection bins are located in the administrative offices.)• Medicines and Jewish Ritual objects for the Jewish community of Brovary, Ukraine (Social Action)

• Mini toiletries for the homeless (Chelsea Rosenbaum)• Knitted/crocheted items for the homeless (Fiber Circle)• New school supplies for Afghan girls (Kaitlyn Hirsch)

• CAB Can & Bottle Drive Temple emanu-el is commiTTed To Tikkun olam

current bulletin-summer 08

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